Clash

'Clash of the Titans' MPAA rating: PG-13 for fantasy action violence, some frightening images and brief sensuality Running time: 1 hour, 58 minutes Playing: In general release

BAGHDAD — Hopes for quick progress on Iran's disputed nuclear program faded rapidly Wednesday, as diplomats from six world powers and Iran collided bitterly in daylong talks intended to resolve their long-standing differences over an effort many nations fear is aimed at building a nuclear bomb. In their second high-level meeting in as many months, representatives of the two sides offered packages of proposals designed to open a path to what is expected to be a long and difficult negotiation.

"Clash" ("Bay Rong"), which marks Le Thanh Son's directorial debut, is a dazzling Vietnamese martial arts movie with a soul, a stylish, gorgeously photographed film in which action sequences are punctuated by serene vistas of natural beauty. Its protagonists, Trinh (Ngo Thanh Van) and Quan (Johnny Tri Nguyen, who also co-wrote and co-produced), are caught up in a violent underworld they long to escape. Trinh, the icy leader of a hit squad that includes ex-con Quan, must rob from French mobsters a certain hard drive if she is to secure the return of her kidnapped daughter from the villainous Hac Long (Hoang Phuc)

USC's Sept. 8 against Syracuse at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., will kick off at 12:30 p.m. PDT and will be televised by ABC, USC announced Tuesday. The Trojans open the season against Hawaii on Sept. 1 at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The kickoff time for that game and others are to be determined. USC, led by quarterback Matt Barkley, is regarded as a front-runner for the Pac-12 Conference championship.

The new four-part special "Clash of the Dinosaurs" uses computer imaging to examine the physiology of such long-extinct "thunder lizards" as the fearsome Tyrannosaurus rex . Concludes next Sunday. (Discovery, 8 and 9 p.m. Sun.)

As decisions go, it was the same kind that faced the 1970s souls who had to pick just the right warlock-and-serpent mural for their customized van. Should the Pegasus be white or black? Maybe glowing red eyes too? And what if -- instead of noble feathers -- the mighty steed of myth came with a killer pair of bat wings? That was one of the choices French filmmaker Louis Leterrier wrestled with last summer on the set of "Clash of the Titans," the Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures adventure that just pulled in $105.

Anti-Olympic protests erupted into clashes with police Saturday as a roaming band of masked activists broke plate-glass shop windows at the iconic Hudson's Bay Co., smashed car windows and hurled trash cans and news racks into busy intersections. Riot police moved in several times to secure key downtown thoroughfares and occasionally wrestled protesters to the ground with batons, though there were no serious injuries. Police were finally able to corner the band of about 300 protesters on a commercial block in Vancouver's west end and then formed a cordon around the leaders, sealing them off as the crowd screamed "Let them go!"

Apple's iPad and the NCAA Final Four were no match for Zeus and Perseus. "Clash of the Titans" cruised to the top of the box office without even breaking a sweat. The 3-D remake of the 1981 kitschy classic took in an estimated $61.4 million this past weekend. That was more than twice what the No. 2 movie, Tyler Perry's "Why Did I Get Married Too?," earned. Rounding out the top five were "How to Train Your Dragon," Miley Cyrus' "The Last Song" and "Alice in Wonderland." Not only did "Clash of the Titans" have to overcome outside distractions fighting for the attention of its heavily male audience -- including the release of Apple's newest gadget, college basketball's playoffs and Easter Sunday, it also was battling for 3-D screen space with "Alice in Wonderland" and "How to Train Your Dragon."

About 50 conscientious objectors clashed with supporters of Barcelona's Socialist Mayor Pasqual Maragall early today, just after the official start of campaigning for municipal elections, police said. There were no arrests and no one was seriously hurt.

MOSCOW — Russian riot police cleared a Moscow park early Wednesday of a weeklong encampment considered a local version of the Occupy movement, and hours later clashed with antigovernment protesters outside a Stalinist skyscraper in a different part of downtown. The dispersal of several dozen protesters at the park encampment, called Occupy Abai, preceded a nighttime confrontation at Kudrinskaya Square, where several hundred protesters had gathered to oppose President Vladimir Putin.

CAIRO — Egyptians gathered in living rooms and cafes Thursday night to mark another first in their troubled political odyssey toward a new democracy: a televised presidential debate that was as captivating as it was surreal. The two leading candidates, former Foreign Minister Amr Moussa and Islamist favorite Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh, clashed in an exchange that would have been fiction during the 30-year rule of deposed President Hosni Mubarak. The spectacle was a rare moment in a region enthralled by Arab uprisings but largely dominated by autocrats and political uncertainty.

WASHINGTON - As lawmakers return to the Capitol this week, Congress will launch into a summer of political gamesmanship that will turn floor fights into proxy battles for the presidential campaign. The votes will do little to resolve crucial issues facing the country. But they will establish themes that help define President Obama and his Republican challenger, Mitt Romney, in the minds of voters. Democrats will seek to portray Republicans as protecting the wealthy at the expense of the middle class.

Hundreds of Occupy marchers peacefully convened Tuesday evening in Pershing Square, an hour after the May Day protest in downtown Los Angeles took a tense turn. The mood was jovial as about 200 protesters listened to live music and watched performers. Earlier, police clashed with protesters at 4th and Hill streets, causing officers clad in riot gear to swarm the area. A police official said a female officer was struck in the head with a skateboard and taken to a hospital.

Whatever was said between first baseman Albert Pujols and hitting coach Mickey Hatcher in the wake of friction that arose between them Monday night remained private Tuesday. Pujols, who in April hit .217 with no homers and four runs batted in, the worst month of his career, was perturbed at Hatcher for telling reporters what he said during a closed-door hitters meeting Monday, even though Pujols' comments, meant to instill confidence in his teammates, were fairly innocuous.

A new kind of Mav-wreck It was a week that packed enough drama for a season's worth of episodes on "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" - or "Jersey Shore," for that matter. There were confrontations, finger-pointing and plenty of regrets, all involving one Lamar Joseph Odom. It started with the infamous locker-room clash last weekend between Odom and his boss, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, who reportedly asked his mopey, underachieving forward whether he wanted "to go for it or not?"

" Clash of the Titans" Demigod Perseus leads a battle against the gods of Greek mythology. "The Exploding Girl" A girl with epilepsy is torn between her boyfriend at college and her longtime hometown friend. "The Greatest" A couple who've lost their teen son are helped when they meet his girlfriend. "The Secret of the Kells" A boy sets out to complete an illuminated manuscript in medieval times. "Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married Too?"

There'll be no lipstick-sharing - yet - between Rimmel owner Coty Inc. and Avon Products Inc. after Avon rejected Coty's $10 billion cash bid Monday. Coty's attempt to buy Avon at $23.25 a share (a 20% premium over the Friday closing price) was both public and unsolicited. In a snippy note on its website, Avon said the offer “is opportunistic and not in the best interest of Avon's shareholders.” Coty had also made another, private overture less than two weeks earlier “that was substantially the same,” according to the note.

To Mitt Romney, the economy is in a shambles. To fellow Republican Scott Walker, the governor of Wisconsin, it is a glowing success. Romney and Walker offered clashing portraits of the economy at a Waukesha County GOP dinner on Saturday. It was a jarring display of how political imperatives can lead candidates of the same party to examine the same set of facts and reach wildly different conclusions that suit their needs for an upcoming election. Facing a June recall vote sparked by his fight with unions of government workers, Walker cast himself as the governor whose fiscal restraint has turned Wisconsin's economy around.